First published 2023
Bruce Holsinger examines how civilizations across three thousand years transformed animal hides into the foundation of written culture. From Egyptian leather scrolls to British parliamentary records, he reveals how sheep, cattle, goats, camels, deer, and gazelles became the medium that preserved human knowledge. Holsinger investigates both ancient and modern parchment production, analyzing these materials as biological records that capture environmental history alongside human text. He explores controversial practices like uterine vellum production and traces parchment's literary presence in works by Augustine, Shakespeare, and medieval Jewish scholars. Drawing from contemporary craftspeople, artists, and makers, the book surveys codices, scrolls, official documents, and artistic works across continents and centuries. At its heart lies humanity's complex bond with the countless slaughtered animals whose processed remains became our historical archive, a relationship marked by both dominance and mercy, cruelty and understanding.
Genres: biography, history, art-history, academic
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction
Setting: Egypt, Britain
Period: 3000 years, Medieval
448 pages · Hardcover · Yale University Press